US golfers ‘light-on’ in World Rankings history

They might host three of the four major championships each year, but the US has been surprisingly ‘light-on’ when it comes to providing the best players in the world.

While American Dustin Johnson is the latest, it’s hard to believe just five Americans before him have held the world No 1 ranking since that system was first introduced in 1986.

Tiger Woods spent 683 weeks as the world’s number one player (Credit: Anthony Powter)

Freddy Couples, Tom Lehman, Tiger Woods, David Duval and Jordan Spieth are the only players from the US – and there are actually 20 players worldwide who have been at the top of the tree – to reach the No.1 ranking.